Train From Marietta (27 page)

“Señor Castle!” the Mexican man called.

“Hello, Jorge. Don’t worry, I’m not badly hurt,” Tate hastened to say. Kate knew he didn’t want them to see him this way. “Just some stitches in my side. Dr. Duval insisted that I come home in this contraption.”

Kate climbed out of the car and stood near the back. She’d had him to herself for the last several days, but now she had to share him with his family.

“Is Emily on the porch?” Tate asked.

“Sí, señor.”

“Can you bring her down here to the car? I don’t want her to be frightened when they pull me out of this thing.”

Jorge went to the porch and took Emily from Yelena. As they approached the car, the little girl called out, “Daddy! Daddy!”

Tate held out his arms, and Jorge raised the girl up into the car. She looked tiny in her father’s embrace. Emily threw her little arms around Tate’s neck and held him tightly. “I missed you, Daddy!”

“I missed you too, sweetheart.”

“Did you bring me something?”

“Sure did.” Tate reached down and handed her the bottle of perfume. “Smell it, honey.”

“Oh, Daddy,” Emily shouted as she took a whiff of the bottle. “It smells good!”

“Have you been a good girl for Yelena?”

“Sometimes,” the child muttered as she looked away from him. As her eyes tried to avoid her father’s gaze, they suddenly landed on Kate standing at the back of the car. For a moment, the little girl stared. “Who’s that?”

“That lady is a nurse, honey. Her name is Miss Tyler.”

“Is she gonna stay here?” A look of distaste crossed Emily’s face. The strength of the child’s reaction was surprising.

“For a little while.”

“I don’t like her.”

“You should. She’s helping to get me well.”

“I can help you. Tell her to go away!”

“Emily,” he chided. “Be nice.”

Jorge reached into the back of the car and lifted the child up in his arms. Emily began to whine and kick her feet out in frustration at being taken away from her father. Kate’s eyes were drawn to the girl’s legs. One was considerably shorter than the other.

Jorge walked away with the child and handed her to Yelena. “Stay with Yelena,
niña.
I help get your papa in the house.” As she was taken to the door, Emily’s eyes stayed locked onto the strange woman.

Kate moved into the car to look at Tate’s wounds. She lifted the sheet and inspected the bandages. There was no fresh blood staining them. She’d been concerned that the drive, or having Emily against him, might have caused them to open.

“Your little girl is beautiful.”

Tate ignored the compliment. “I’m sorry for what she said.”

“I understand her anxiety.”

Tate sighed. “I’ve been away too much lately. I need to stay home and use a stronger hand with her. I’d hate for her to grow up and be like her mother.”

Before Kate could answer, Jorge came back to the car. He looked surprised to see her bending over Tate. She straightened and pulled the blanket back up to cover his chest.

“Jorge,” Tate said from the car, “this is Miss Tyler. She’s the lady that Lyle wanted me to find. She’s a nurse and will be staying here with us for a while.”

A wide grin split Jorge’s face.
“
Hola, señorita.”

“How do you do?” The friendly smile on the man’s face eased a bit of Kate’s apprehension.

Jorge climbed into the car as Kate exited. The driver took hold of one end of the stretcher-sling and unfastened the chains that held it in place. Jorge did the same on the other end, and they eased Tate down onto the floor of the car.

“Can you handle that end?” the driver asked.

“Sí.”

Kate held the car door open. She was nervous about how they were going to get Tate into the house. The driver, however, seemed confident. Jorge lifted his end of the litter, and they easily moved Tate out. Kate went ahead of them and opened the door of the house.

As they entered the kitchen, Yelena was setting Emily down on the table.

“Why are they carrying Daddy?” The child’s voice was shrill.

“He has a little hurt in his side,” Kate explained. “But don’t worry. He’ll be all right in a few days.” She followed the men until they reached a room at the front of the house and set Tate gently onto the bed. When Jorge and the driver left the room, carrying the empty litter, Kate went in.

“Wasn’t an easy ride, huh?” she said as she wiped beads of perspiration from Tate’s brow.

“I sure as hell wouldn’t want to do it every day.”

“Rest awhile. Later I’ll change your bandages.”

Yelena came into the room carrying Emily. She set her down on the edge of the bed next to her father. Tate introduced the two women. “Pleased to meet you,” Kate said, and held out her hand. Yelena took it and smiled warmly.

“Emily cry for her daddy. Want to see him.”

“Be careful and not hurt your daddy,” Kate said kindly.

“I won’t.” Resentment was in the child’s voice.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t do it on purpose, sweetie. Let your daddy rest for a bit, and later I’ll show you where he’s hurt.”

“You go. Me and Yelena will take care of Daddy.”

“Emily,” Tate said firmly. He rose up on one elbow and fixed a stern look on his daughter. “Miss Tyler will be here for a few days. I expect you to treat her nicely.” Sensing that this was a conversation that would be better if she weren’t in the room, Kate glanced at Yelena and slipped out the door.

“I don’t like her.” Emily’s voice reached every corner of the small house.

Tate frowned, his patience stretched to the breaking point. “I have never spanked you, but I just might do it if you’re not nice to a guest in our home. She saved me from a bad man.”

Emily’s face crumbled, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. “I don’t want the present,” she sobbed, and reached into her pocket for the bottle of perfume. “You don’t like me!”

“Of course, I like you. That’s why I’m telling you this. I want you to be nice so other people will like you too.”

Yelena, who had heard this conversation several times before, said, “I get dinner ready,” and left father and daughter alone in the room.

When she reached the kitchen, Kate was standing at the window watching the doctor’s vehicle head back down the lane. She turned when she heard Yelena enter the room and said, “I’m sorry if my being here is a bother. Tate insisted I stay with him until his friend Lyle gets here. Besides, the doctor wanted me to tend to his injuries. He has three deep knife wounds.”

“You are nurse?” Yelena asked.

“Yes. I worked in a clinic in New York City.”

“Who do this, señorita?” Kate’s head turned at the sound of another voice. Jorge stood at the far end of the kitchen. She hadn’t heard him enter the room.

“A man named Hayden tried to kill him.”

“Ah, no. That one again. He not give up.”

“He will now. He’s dead.”

“Madre de Dios!”
Jorge exclaimed. “That good. He bad man.”

“Hayden and two other men kidnapped me. Even though Hayden is dead, the other men are still out there somewhere.”

“You safe here.”

Yelena left the room and came back a minute later with a skirt and blouse thrown over her arm. “Señor say you will want bath. He say your clothes stay on train. I bring you clean ones to wear while I wash others.”

“Thank you very much.” Simply washing herself with a towel at the doctor’s office had been welcome, but a full bath with clean clothes to wear would be wonderful.

The Mexican woman handed Kate the clothes, a towel, and a cake of good-smelling soap. “Señor bring this for little one.”

“Are you sure I should use it?”

“Use it and smell nice. Go with Jorge. He show you bath.”

Kate followed the short Mexican man out to the barn. It was built out of the same wood as the main ranch house and painted to match. Jorge proudly showed her to a lean-to built on to the side of it. It was small with a wooden slat floor. A rope hung down from the ceiling. Grinning, Jorge said, “Pull the rope, the water come down.”

“Is it cold?” Kate asked as she laid her towel and clean clothes down on a small bench to one side of the lean-to.

“Not cold. Sun warm the water.”

Bidding her to enjoy her bath, Jorge went out and closed the door behind him. Kate looked to see if there was a bar or latch, but there was none.
Oh, well! They take public baths in Europe, don’t they?
She giggled at the thought.

She stripped quickly. Standing under the shower, she pulled the rope and a splash of water came down. It felt wonderful! She soaped her wet head and then the rest of her body. She pulled the rope again to release more water. After several bucketfuls had poured over her, she got out from under the contraption. Kate had taken many a wonderful bath in her day, but none had been as refreshing as this one. She rubbed the towel vigorously over her head before slipping on the skirt Yelena had given her. It was too big in the waist and came only to her knees, but it was clean. The blouse, with a deep scoop neck and puffed sleeves, was plenty large, but too short to tuck into the waistband of her skirt. The neck was so big that she wondered if it should hang off one shoulder. She put on her moccasins and left the lean-to.

In the yard, between the barn and the house, was a clothesline. Kate hung up her towel, stepped up onto the porch, and went into the kitchen. Yelena was at the stove. She turned to smile when Kate entered.

“That was wonderful. Thank you for the clean clothes. I’ve been wearing those dirty ones for more than a week.”

“I will wash them, señorita.”

“I don’t want to be any trouble.” Kate smiled. “I’ll rinse out the blouse.”

Kate spent the rest of the afternoon working around the kitchen with Yelena. She was hesitant about going into Tate’s room, since Emily was still in there with him. The little girl was very possessive of her father. Children usually liked Kate, but this one didn’t. It would be a challenge to win her over.

After the evening meal, Yelena showed her to a cot in Emily’s room. Kate’s handbag and newly cleaned clothes sat on the cot. While Yelena washed the little girl and got her ready for bed, Kate went to Tate’s room to change his bandages. She carried with her the supplies that Dr. Duval had sent with them. When she entered, Tate leaned up on one elbow and grinned.

“That’s quite a contraption you have out there for taking a bath.” She sat down on the edge of his bed. It felt wonderful to be near him again.

“It serves its purpose.” He lifted his hand to her head and ran his forked fingers through her damp hair. His touch was even better than the bath had been. “It feels nice.”

“I never enjoyed a bath so much.”

“I’m looking forward to one of my own.” He slid his hand down from her hair and rubbed the fabric of the blouse between his fingers. “I see that Yelena found you some clean clothes.”

“She did.” She plucked at the blouse neck, suddenly self-conscious. “I didn’t know what to do with the neck. Do they pull it down over one shoulder?”

“Only if you’re at a cantina.”

“What’s that?”

Tate’s grin widened. “I guess you could call it a poor man’s nightclub.”

“Then I guess I’ll keep it on both shoulders.”

“I don’t know.” Tate chuckled. “You’d look pretty nice to me.”

“I wouldn’t suggest teasing me, Tate Castle.”

“And why’s that? What’ll you do to me?”

“There are any number of things that I could do to you as soon as I take those bandages off. I might decide to wash your wounds with whiskey. Or if you make me really mad, I’ll drink the whiskey and pour vinegar on your wounds.”

“I wouldn’t like that.”

Both of them laughed at their playful banter. Kate was suddenly struck by the thought that this was one of the few times they’d been able to be completely at ease with each other since they met. It was nice to be able to relax. Then, just as she was about to comment on her thought, Tate frowned.

“I’m sorry for what Emily said to you today.”

“About her wanting me to go?”

“Yes.” Before continuing, Tate took one of Kate’s hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. “She doesn’t want to share me with anyone.”

“That’s understandable. I felt somewhat the same about my own father.”

“What did he do about it?”

Kate thought for a minute. “I think he made me feel that no matter who else was around, I was still his favorite. I was still his little girl and nothing would change that.”

Tate nodded his head and said, “There haven’t been many women around since Hazel left. Emily knew that those who did come here weren’t going to stay. For some reason, it’s different with you. Even when I tried to explain that you’d be here for just a few days, she was still upset.”

“Why is she upset if she knows I’m leaving?”

“Emily doesn’t understand time. To her, a few days seems like forever.”

There was a knock at the door, and Yelena entered. “Emily in bed. She want you to see her.”

“Tell her I can’t come to her tonight,” Tate explained.

“She want story, señor.”

“How would she feel about my telling her a story?” Kate asked. “I know a few that could entertain her. It might be a chance for us to get to know each other.”

Yelena shrugged and left the doorway.

Tate gave Kate’s hand another squeeze. “She may not be nice to you.”

“I’ve handled children who weren’t nice. I won’t be hurt by anything she says. Let me give it a try.”

“You’ll come back?”

“You want me to?”

“I do.”

As Kate got up and left the room, she looked back over her shoulder to see Tate watching her go and felt her heart stumble.
Careful,
she cautioned herself.
You’re out of your element here. You could very well leave with a broken heart.

Before going into Emily’s room, Kate stood in the hall way and took a deep breath. She was confident that she’d be able to get Emily to like her; it would just take some effort. When she entered, the little girl was lying in bed, her eyes fixed on the doorway.

“Emily,” she said gently, “your daddy can’t get out of bed to come see you. He asked me to tell you a story for him.”

“But I want my daddy,” she fussed. Looking at her, Kate could see the ways she resembled her father. Their eyes were the same clear blue, with dark brows and lashes. They both had the same wild black hair.